The
Ebola outbreak in West Africa could infect 20,000 people as soon as early
November unless rigorous infection control measures are implemented, and might
"rumble on" for years in a holding pattern, researchers said on
Tuesday.
In
an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, experts from the World
Health Organization and Imperial College said that infections will continue
climbing exponentially unless patients are isolated, contacts traced and
communities enlisted.
The
WHO, in an initial roadmap issued on Aug 28, predicted that the virus could
strike 20,000 people within the next nine months. The current death toll is at
least 2,811 out of 5,864 cases, the U.N. agency says.
The
latest study, marking six months from March 23, when the WHO says it was
informed of the Ebola outbreak in southeastern Guinea, reflects projections
based on the data from a third wave of the virus in Guinea, Sierra Leone and
worst-hit Liberia.
"With
exponential growth, you'll see that
